Coast Guard Looks to Break out with the 'Old Bay' Crew

New London, Conn - As basketball and football are often associated with the states of Indiana and Pennsylvania, shellfish and the sport of lacrosse are synonymous with the state of Maryland. What's the line from The Wedding Crashers? "Crab cakes and lacrosse, that's what Maryland does!"...something like that. In keeping with the Maryland theme, it appears as if Coast Guard Academy head lacrosse coach Brian Krautler (Arnold/ Broadneck and Key School) and his staff have inherited some talented players from "The Old Line State" - players that the Coast Guard Academy hopes will lead them to a PCLL D2 Championship in 2010.

The 40-man 2010 Coast Guard Academy Men's Lacrosse team roster includes nine players from Maryland, including a core group from the Class of 2011. The defense is anchored by a pair of Marylanders in team captain, Greg Bernstein (Baltimore/The McDonogh School) and crease-clearing Paul Junghans (Damascus/The Heights School). Last season's offensive leaders, juniors Kyle Ennis (Mayo/ DeMatha High School) and Matthew Chase (Baltimore/Loch Raven) also hail from "The Old Line State." Like a yellow and blue tin of Baltimore's Old Bay seasoning, this core group of players has added a distinct impact and flavor to the Bear's lacrosse program.

The "leader" of the group, Bernstein usually draws the assignment to cover the opponent's best attackman or midfielder. His cat-like reflexes and lacrosse IQ have allowed him to literally shutdown some of the best scorers in the conference. His defensive prowess the last two years earned him PCLL Division 2 All-Conference - Second Team honors in 2008 and First Team honors in 2009.

This summer Bernstein will spend six weeks in Palmer, Alaska as the Team Leader for the Coast Guard Academy expedition at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) before reporting aboard USCGC TERRAPIN ("Fear the Turtle" - how appropriate), an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat out of Bellingham, WA to finish out his training.

Junghans is another Maryland-component of a physical defensive unit which carries on the proud CGA tradition of venerable long poles. Paul is known for his field vision, wit and ability to lead the fast break with finesse not normally found in a crease defender. Junghans will spend his summer training aboard USCGC GALLATIN, a 378-foot high endurance cutter out of Charleston, SC.

The "character" of the group is definitely Matt Chase - somewhat "xenophobic" about all things not from Maryland, Chase refuses to purchase lacrosse equipment anywhere except inside of the Baltimore city lines. He once pondered on his Facebook page that purchasing gear outside of Baltimore could result "in no offhand and a severe lack of flow" - things no self-respecting lacrosse player can tolerate. A prolific scorer, Chase has become an integral piece of the Bears offensive attack.

Chase was second in the league in goals (25) with multiple 4+ goal games and #8 in points despite regularly drawing the opposing team's best defender. A talented and consistent player with skills that were respected around the league, Chase ranked #117 in points per game nationally and was selected 2009 PCLL Division 2 All-Conference - Second Team. Chase will spend a portion of his summer as an intern at the National Security Agency (NSA) before reporting aboard USCGC STATEN ISLAND, a 110-foot Patrol Boat out of Atlantic Beach, NC to finish out his training program.

CGA is hoping to have Kyle Ennis back at some point in the season, following an ACL injury last year. Ennis is considered the best pure athlete on the Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse team. Selected to the MCLA D2 All-American Honorable Mention team, Kyle was the only PCLL player recognized that was not a member of the PCLL D2 Champion Stonehill College team. He was second in the league in points per game with 29 points in only 6 games.